Take It Face To Face

After spending the last six months on hold, Subway has decided to launch its campaign with 14-time Olympic gold medalist spokesman, Michael Phelps.

Subway, who intended on launching the campaign several months ago, decided to hold off when a photo of Phelps partying in South Carolina surfaced.  The campaign has launched almost a year after Phelps’ dominating performance in the Olympics, but Subway believes his popularity has not diminished.

While many believed the incident would cost Phelps millions in endorsement deals, Phelps only lost his contract with Kellogg’s, which was far from his largest.  The brands that chose to stick with Phelps, including Subway, are helping to solidify Phelps’ place towards the top of the endorsement elites.

If Phelps continues on his current path, he may soon find himself among the Jordans, Tigers, and LeBrons of the advertising world.  His ability to rebound from several past mistakes are beginning to give him an auora of invincibility in terms of his marketing appeal.

Do you think Michael Phelps will continue to flourish as a spokesman?  Has his previous mistakes changed how you view him or the products he endorses?  What athletes/celebrities do you believe are “invincible” in terms of their mass appeal?

Somewhere along the way, I must’ve missed something. Britney Spears…Isn’t she that chick who had a bunch of hits back in the 90s? I’m pretty sure I remember her having a shotgun wedding or two, flashing countless photographers, getting slapped with child neglect accusations and losing any shred of dignity she might have ever possessed.

So what on Earth is she doing performing at the Verizon Center tonight? And even worse, why are half of the people I know going?

I understand that celebrities are people too. They make mistakes, and they hire PR people to tidy up after them. But I wish someone would explain to me this secret formula the public seems to use for which fallen stars they will and won’t forgive.

Just think about it. A few off the cuff examples whose logic simply eludes me:

Michael Phelps: You probably know what I think of him. I don’t believe he has the tiniest shred of remorse. Forgiving him twice in a row for nearly identical indiscretions? Wrong answer.

Mariah Carey: She’s second only to the Beatles with Billboard number one hits. That’s more than Elvis. One mental breakdown and it’s kind of like she never existed. Do you think she could sell out the Verizon Center today? I’m no expert on the matter, but I tend to doubt it.

Rihanna: Five number one hits in less than three years. Her boyfriend, rapper Chris Brown, beats her senseless and according to survey of teenage girls, nearly 50% believe Rihanna is to blame. I realize teenage girls are not the greatest indicator of the general public, but universally Rihanna’s reputation seems to be tanking because of her perceived role in the incident, and her decision to stay in the relationship.

When it comes to lost reputations, Michael Jackson is one of the only disgraced celebrities that I think the public has responded to appropriately. After years of unnatural transformative surgeries and numerous allegations of child molestation, the former pop king is an incontrovertible pariah, the quintessence of a reputation gone horribly south.

But back to Britney Spears, the princess of the hour. Reputation-wise, she really needs to join Michael in the dog house. The fact that some think she has talent is just not a good enough excuse. Michael had talent too. Lots more of it. His greatest hits cd is in my car as we speak.

My point: talent only goes so far when it comes to trumping craziness. Britney Spears didn’t exactly write those songs. Whoever did should’ve handed them to someone else, because Britney stopped deserving your money and your attention when she shaved her head and started assaulting the paparazzi with umbrellas.

So why do you think Britney’s still around? What’s her secret? Tell us your thoughts.

Earlier this week, when a British tabloid released a photograph taken late last year of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana, his reputation instantly went up in *ahem* smoke. Or did it?

Here we have a 14 time Olympic gold medalist and cultural icon in the midst of a substance abuse scandal, and not even his first. In 2004, a 19-year-old Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence and vowed that this offense was uncharacteristic and would not happen again. He saved some serious face after the DUI by speaking to kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

And the response this time around was much the same. Phelps’ representatives have declared that the swimmer, “feels bad he let anyone down,” and that, “he intends to work hard to regain everyone’s trust.”

Would Americans really give him a third chance? One online poll indicated that 54% of participants no longer view Phelps as a positive role model for kids, and 52% of respondents believe this scandal tarnishes his legacy. On that same vein, following the release of the photograph, Kellogg announced it would not renew Phelps’ endorsement.

Despite what seems pretty bleak on the surface, other signs indicate the possibility that Phelps could pull off a comeback of Britney Spears proportions. After all, Speedo, Visa, Omega and nearly all of Phelps’ other sponsors have vowed to stand behind him.

To Phelps’ credit (or his PR rep’s anyway), he hasn’t tried to deny it. And that, if anything, might be his saving grace. Can he rally in spite of it all, or is he doomed to the same fate as Michael and OJ?

How did the photo change your opinion of Michael Phelps? Tell us your thoughts.